Secret Phobias
by Copper Rallie Sweep
Summary: Yazoo has a secret. Reno wants in on it. Something nice for a change. Part of my "Soft Hearts" series.


I'm warning you now, THIS HAS YAOI IN IT. _**Y.A.O.I**_ . AS IN GUYXGUY STUFF. GO BACK IF YOU NO LIKE IT.

No flames. Pretty pleasse. Especially now that I've warned you. Got it? Good. Now sit back and enjoy!

Summary you failed to see: Yazoo has a problem. Kadaj doesn't know about it, Loz doesn't know about it. No one else knows about it.... Until they decide to go swimming.

Just to let you know this doesn't follow any of the plots from the games and movies and has no passific time frame.

**Secret Phobias**

Part 1: water

Yazoo laid flat on his stomache on his bed, in his room, in silence, reading. He liked reading, it was so...peaceful. A nice break from the chaos in the rest of the house, aka the arguments between his two older brothers, his eldest brother, and their friends who were detirmined to drag Kadaj, Loz, Sephiroth and himsefl to the the park, the cinema, the etc.

Why? Yazoo didn't know. It didn't normally spark argument, but they trying to convince Sephiroth to join them - at Genesis was- and they were failing. Which was a good sign for Yazoo. as the mystery destination this week was: (drum roll please) The new swimming pool. Kadaj didn't want to go because the lady at the desk kept flirting with him, Loz wished not to attend because the water messed up his hair, and Sephiroth, well he just didn't like wearing swim-suits.

Yazoo didn't mind the idea of swimming, infact it sounded pretty nice, he was however very against the idea of jumping into freezing cold water wearing nothing but a pair of swimming trunks, summer or not, it just didn't make any sense! He may also have been a tinsy bit scared of the water. But only a bit, it had more to do with the fact that he couldn't swim rather than anything else.

Yazoo shrugged off those thoughts. They were just nasties provoked by constant nightmares of drowning. And anyways what was the possiblities of actually going there? Low. Very, very low.

The door to his opened taking him rather abruptly from his thoughts.

"Yazoo, go find your googles, we're going swimming!" Eh? Yazoo turned his towards the intruder. _Cloud Stirfe how I hate you right now...._ "Oof!" Was the only reply he got.

And this intruder who was indeed Cloud, had vanished from the door and was currently siting on Yazoo's back. "Get off Cloud! My back can't take your weight!" Yazoo grunted at him. Cloud removed himself but didn't leave the room. Instead he leaned over Yazoo like a hawk.

"What're you reading?" He leaned over further to try to find some indication of a name.

"It just a book, it probably wouldn't interest you." Cloud view was closed off along with the cover of the book when Yazoo snapped it shut. He continued to speak. "Most of it is just boaring anyways, and only a few chapters in it are worth reading -infact I was just passing the time." Yazoo put it under his pillow and got up. "Let's go back through, everyone will wonder what's happened to you."

Yazoo was egger to get Cloud out of the room so he could hide his diary (aka the book under his pillow) to avoid the embarrasment of having some one figure out his worst fears, his nightmares and what he really thought of every one and everything; but most all was whoever read it would most likely tell every one all these secrets and more!

"Er, okay.. Yazoo are feeling all right? You're acting odd..."

"Never been better Cloud! Now you go back to the others I'll get my stuff."

"If you say so.." Cloud hesitated before leaving, and as soonas the door shut Yazoo hung his head.

_How the hell did that happen? _He thought to himself while walking to the drawer beside his bed. He couldn't even faine sickness, Seph would catch him out. And he paled at thought of the punishment instore for him if that happened. Carefully he gathered his belongings and dugout a small bag from under his bed.

He needed to act as normal as possible or people might just catch on to the "problem".

He left the room, forgetting to hide his diary in the drawer beside his bed.

He came out into the hall and then continued down the corridor, taking a deep breath before entring the front room in an attempt to stablise his breathing.

_God help me now,_ he thought opening the door and entring the room.

Zack was messing up Cloud's spiky hair not like it had any effect; Seph was sitting talking to Genesis and Angeal, and occassionally telling Kadaj off for swearing making Loz giggle; Reno was teasing Yuffie, Aerith was laughing at them; and tifa was in one of the armchairs with her legs draped over the other side, reading.

"You're finally here." Sephiroth stated turning to Yazoo, to which Yuffie jumped up and responded: "Okay, every body, Lets go!"

Yazoo followed everyone throught the room to the proch, and waited with Cloud and Zack who managed to get their belonging together quickly.

"Yazoo, are you sure you're alrigth?" Cloud asked placing a hand on his shoulder.

"He has a point you know Yazoo, you look really pale, and you're breathing heavily.."

Yazoo avoided the hand that tryed to cheek his temperature.

He was trying to think about the bright side, it was really rare all of them went out into the world and had fun, it would be a shame to make them worried about him, and anyway, a cold would just prolonge the enevitable.

"I'm fine." Zack and Cloud exchanged looks with each other at his comment.

Zack must of thought of an idea because his mouth twisted into a smirk.

"Y'know what Cloud? I think we need a second opinion, don't you?" Cloud smiled and nodded. Zack took it from there. "Hey Angeal, come here a second." He called through.

Angeal appeared in the proch demanding to know what Zack wanted. To which Zack answered, "I need a second opinion from some one who knows about health," At this point he nodded in Yazoo's direction.

Yazoo rolled his eyes, "For the time, I am well, you hear I am utterly and completely fine."

"You heard the man Zack," Angeal said ruffling the younger's hair. Zack sighed.

Eventually everyone was ready and they began the walk to the pool.

Throughout the entire journey to the pool, Yazoo was harassed with question left, right and centre from Zack and Cloud (it wasn't really their fault, they were just worried). If he wasn't finding it hard enough to keep up in the first place those dolts had been making it impossible.

He had been telling himself it would just be like a bath, but he didn't take baths so he ahd no clue what it would be like.

Genesis Angeal and Sephiroth were leading them on the way to the swimming pool so he thanking his lucky stars they hadn't noticed how pale he had gotten, or his laboured breathing, and he swore that if he had to, he would everything in his power to stop them, and everybody else that didn't know, from finding out.

They separated into different changing roomswhen they arrived. They didn't need to pay today apparantly because it was compamentary service due to fact that it had just opened.

Yazoo got changed and left his stuff in a locker before going to find everyone else. He made his way though the the changing room up to the swimming area, when a bout of dizzyness caused him to lose balance and he clung to the nearest wall for support.

He was guessing that it was just the chlorine in the water that brought about his head ache, wait a minute, head ache? Yazoo was sure that he didn't have one of those before. His stomache was sore too... when did all this happen?

As soon as it cleared up he looked around, seeing no one he sighed. _At least no one saw, _he thought cautiously continuing on his way.

Zack came running out of a side corridor in front of him, almost knocking him over.

"There you are! We've been looking everywhere!" Zack explained to him that he'd been all over the building looking for Yazoo, even in the upstairs balcany which he explained were huge.

The others looked glad to see them.

Yazoo would of turned paler if possible at the fact they were in the deep end. Crap.

But he was fine with that, all he'd have to do was stay close to the side of the pool and he'd be fine...which would of been possible if he hadn't slipped on the tiled floor and fallen face first into the water.

Yazoo panicked. The water had hurt when he hit it. His entire side ached in pain and he couldn't see anything but a blur.

Just when he thought he was going to drown, stronge arms gripped his waist and pulled him to the surface. Air ventallated his lungs, and he began to cough.

Genesis held him upright, "Yazoo are you alright? You have to be careful, understand?" Yazoo nodded.

"If I didn't know better I'd think you couldn't swim." Came the arragent voice of Kadaj.

"Ofcourse I can swim, I just couldn't see anything." Yazoo lied in responce through his coughs.

"Alright enough of that you two." Came a stressed warning from Sephiroth, his slight discontent evident in his eyes.

Yazoo squirmed in Genesis' arms and grabbed a hold of the ledge just under the water's surface. If Genesis' hand's got any closer to his face he was so busted.

A familiar hand found it's way onto Yazoo's shoulder. Yazoo remembered the feel of it, smooth, cold pads on the very tips, definatly who he thought it was. Cloud. He turned round to face him, ahand still firmly grasping the ledge.

The friendly little chocobo smiled uneaslly at him, "Yazoo, are you sure you're okay?"

Another grinning person foating behind Cloud in the water, also spoke, "Yazoo, he has a point you don't look too good.." Damn Yuffie and loud voice. "Cloud we should cheek his temperature! Habe you got a thumbmomiter?"

Cloud sighed, "Yuffie one it's a _**ther-**_mometer, and two why would I have one?"

"Good point... maybe Zack has one, I'll go cheek!" And she began wading through the water effortlessly, a skill Yazoo was very jealous of right now.

"Wait-a-minute Yuffie, come back, he might take it the wrong way! Yuffie!" Cloud rushed after her, gilding across the water as if it were air and he had wings. Of that, Yazoo was also jealous. It just wasn't fair, everyone -bar himself- seemed to be able to swim with such grace, and make look so easy... Yazoo felt his heart drop in his chest, ad let the depression seep into his body. This was aweful.

Reminding himself that Cloud and Yuffie would seek him out soon, he decided it was best to move.

He got all of about 20 meters when some one crashed into the back of him.

A certain redhead poped his head out of the water, taking his googles off his eyes. "Sorry Yazoo, Ididn't see you there. What are you doing over this side anyways, I thought you would of stayed in the shallower end, oh well." Yazoo almost kicked himself there and then.

"I'm hiding from Cloud, Yuffie and possibly Zack. The lot of them are determined to prove I'm ill. Any advice?" Yazoo looked hopefully at Reno, who smiled back at him, good old Reno.

"None what so ever." Not exactly the answer he wanted..." When the three of them want to prove something that they think they know for fact, you can be sure ya won't have the day to yourself.."

Yazoo groaned, he partly slid further under water.

"Hey, you can stick with me. Yea, I'll protect ya Yazoo." Reno said, cheerily hugging an arm around Yazoo. Yazoo relaxed until he added, "Now, I challenge you to a diving contest."

Yazoo tensed. Hello mass of all problems! If there waws ever anything that scared him to hell it was being under water. And diving is under frigging water. _Help..._ he though. Well Reno was his best friend... maybe...just maybe, he could tell him...

Yazoo tugged at Reno's arm.

"Reno?" Cautiously came the question from his lips, "Can I talk to you a minute?"

A smile touched at the courners of Reno's mouth as he replied, "When would I say no?"

Yazoo pulled him slightly away from the others -just incase they should evesdrop- via teh side of the pool.

"Reno, can you keep a secret?"

"Why do ask?" Reno's face took a look of sudden realisation. "Oh," Reno's mouth twitched in a sly smile, "I know what it is..."

Yazoo's eyes seemed as thought they would pop out of his head, "You do? For how long?"

"Well, counting last summer...I'd say a good six months." Had he been that obivious? Yazoo thought back, listing things in his head that could of possibly given him away, until Reno spoke up. "What's wrong they ask you to keep it a secret or something?" _They? Who's they?Wait a minute... _

"Which 'they' might you be talking about?"

"Which rock have you been hiding under? Cloud and Zack. The love buds. 'They' who have been acting all huggy kissy since we got back last year." Yazoo let out a sigh. Thank god. Every one was far too peroccupied with the new couple than his shaded secret.

"Maybe you _should_ see a doctor Yaz, you're acting real strange all of a sudden.." Reno leaned in closer.

"Reno I'm not sick. Look, can I trust you not?" Yazoo had taken a firmer grip on the rail as his aniouties had started to mess with his head again.

" 'Course Yaz, when have you not been able to?" Yazoo could pick several occassions out of his head but he didn't voice them, well, not out loud anyway.

"Alright, you can't tell anyone got it?" Reno nodded. Yazoo pulled him closer, putting his lips next to Reno's ear to whisper. "I...Reno I can't-"

"Found you!" The look on Reno's face meant that he would shoot that little chocobo if he had access to a gun. Cloud was followed by an equally loud Yuffie.

"Where did you go? We were looking everywhere!"

"Do you mind you hyper little git? We were talking." Reno pulled Yazoo against his chest protectively. Yuffie did her aw cutie kitty impression, while Cloud just stared blankly. Reno continued, "So if you don't mind...."

Niether got the message. "I said, kindly piss off, you're both being a pain in the-"

"Now now, there's no need for that langueage Reno." Reno near crushed Yazoo when he jumped at the husky voice behind him. He turned round to face Genesis.

Slightly shaken he replied, "Goodness sake Genesis, don't jump me like that." Yazoo was still pinned to his chest, but he wasn't complaining.

Yazoo's head started spinning, the objects and people around him turning mearly into blurs of colour and light and the voice were no more than muffled sounds. His head sunk against Reno's shoulder for support. He was going to faint.

********************

[End of Part One]


End file.
